Born to be Wild
by BlueBelle Author 1600
Summary: After his parents are killed by poachers, Manny Rivera is forced to live as an orphan in the jungles of Mexico. But he is found and raised by wild cats. When he's thirteen he has a brief friendship with a girl named Frida but then they are separated. Years later as an adult they meet again and love blooms.
1. Chapter 1

**Note not all the animals and plants will be native to Mexico but it's Fanfiction so deal with it.**

Five year old Manny Rivera looked up at the trees of the jungles of Mexico. The colorful birds were perched on them singing and monkeys were swinging through them. He tried to climb up the tree to get a better look but he only fell down on his butt.

"Manny be careful." His father said.

His father Rodolfo Rivera was a biologist who was visiting the jungle to study the wildlife, his mother Maria was a vet who came to tend to the sick and hurt animals here. Their main purpose was to provide protection for endangered species. Many of them had been hunted and were going into instinction. Luckily Miracle City had provided a wild life reserve to put a stop to it.

"Fascinating." Rodolfo said observing an iguana. He took a picture with his camera and stuck it in his journal along with the other pictures he had taken. "Alright son let's head back."

He put his son on his shoulders and carried him back to their research facility.

"There we go, good as new." Maria said unwrapping a bandage off an injured bird's wing that had just held. "There you are dear."

She opened the window and the bird flew away.

"We're back." Rodolfo said walking inside.

"I see and what did you two scientists find?" She asked.

"Several new species of iguana." Her husband replied. "And I brought a little something for you."

"Oh Rodolfo."

He handed her a pink tiger lily flower. She smiled and kissed him on the mouth.

"Ewww!" Manny said. "Why do you guys have to be so gross?"

The two laughed at their son's embarrassment. They began to pack up their things. This was their last day, now they were going back home to Miracle City to present the research. It was a long drive back, little Manny fell asleep during the drive.

"He looks exhausted." Rodolfo said looking back her son who was sleeping in the back seat clutching his stuffed tiger toy.

"Yes but he's so adorable when he sleeps." Maria smiled and leaned over to plant a kiss on his head.

Suddenly they spotted three men wearing masks with guns setting up traps.

"What are hunters doing here?" Maria asked.

"I don't know." Rodolfo stopped the car. "Stay with Manny, Maria."

He got out of the car and approached the men.

"Excuse me gentlemen." He said to them politely. "But this is the wildlife reserve. There's no hunting here."

"So?" One of the hunters said.

"So I'm afraid that you must leave, this jungle is protected by the law hunting here is illegal."

"Like we care? Stay out of our way!" He said.

"But you can't hunt here! This jungle is home to hundreds of endangered species!"

"Mama? What's Papa doing?" Manny asked waking up.

"I..I don't know dear. Stay in the car okay?" Maria got out. "I beg your pardon gentlemen but is there a problem?"

"There will be if you two don't back off and let us trap some animals!" Another hunter said.

"If you three don't leave at once I'll have to call the police."

Rodolfo reached for his phone. The first hunter pointed his gun at him and the second pointed his at Maria.

"Drop the phone or we shoot!" The first hunter ordered.

"Okay." Rodolfo did as he was told. "There no harm done. Now can you just let me leave with my family?"

"Sorry but no witnesses."

He shot him. Maria screamed.

"Rodolfo!"

She ran to her husband's side only to be shot as well.

"Mama! Papa!" Manny cried.

The three hunters looked at the boy in the car. Manny hid but they already saw him. The hunter then fired a shot at the oil tank setting the car on fire.

"Oh my God! What the hell have you done?!" The third hunter said. "You killed them!"

"Hey I couldn't let them tell the cops!"

"Hunting illegally is one thing but I'm not going to jail for murder!" The second said.

"Me either!" The third said.

"Will you two shut up! It's the jungle! No one's gonna know! Come on!"

Shortly after they left the police and ambulance drove by due to the gunshots they heard and the smell of smoke from the reserve. When they got there they found the couple and their car in flames. They put out the fire but they found nothing of Manny except his stuffed tiger and a family photo. The police held a moment of silence for the deceased family. Then went to report the news to Rodolfo's father Jorge who was shattered when heard about the deaths of his son, daughter in law, and grandson. Little did they know that just before the car was completely covered in fire, Manny escaped and ran deep into the jungle.

The little boy was very afraid and sad. He sat under a tree and began to cry, his sobbing stopped when he looked up to see four wild cats: a black panther and his spotted leopard mate, an old puma, and a tiger cub who like Manny had lost his family to poachers. He backed against the tree in fear. The tiger cub went to investigate what this thing was, he sniffed him then much to Manny's surprise he licked him on the cheek. Manny giggled as the cub began to play with him. The black panther and his mate walked over to the boy and sniffed him as well. The leopard quickly accepted him thanks to maternal instinct but the panther was a little cautious. He didn't mind adopting the tiger cub because he was like them, a wild cat but he wasn't sure about the human. But with a little encouragement from his mate he agreed. Unusual behavior for them but wild animals are mysterious things.

From that day forward the four wild cats raised Manny as one of their own. They taught him how to hunt, fight, track, and climb. Some skills Manny learned on his own such as swinging on vines, built a spear, and then use it to catch fish and fruit. For food he ate boar, deer, and fish that he hunted with his animal pack and bananas, coconuts, and mangos he picked from trees. They slept in trees and sometimes in caves. For fun Manny liked to climb trees, swing, and swim in the river.

Eight years passed, Manny was now a thirteen year old boy with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes with a scar over one of his eyes from the accident. He wore only pants that were ripped up and a tiger tooth around his neck. He had grown accustomed to living in the wild and loved his family.

The panther served as the fatherly role in his life, his mate the spotted leopard served as the motherly role, the old puma was sort of like a grouchy elder who advised him, and the tiger was like his older brother. And like most brothers they challenged each other through races and wrestling. For example this morning his tiger brother challenged him to a race to their tree. Manny ran as fast as he could with determination in his thoughts and just when it looked like he would win, Tigre pounced on him and beat him to the tree.

"Cheater!" Manny thought.

The tiger just looked at him smug like. Then the two engaged in a play fight like they always did if Manny accused him of not playing fair. The tiger was always careful not to be too hard on the boy. Most of the time he would win but on a few occasions Manny would beat him. The tiger tooth he wore around his neck was one that he knocked out of his brother's mouth during a match and he let him keep it.

After their fight they decided to go for a swim in the river. Manny did a perfect dive off of a water fall and into the river. Being a human, he was actually a lot better at swimming than his adoptive animal family. In the afternoon they curled up under the tree and took a nap.

During his time in the jungle, he began to lose memories of his old life. He also forgot how to speak properly. He could still speak but it was in stutters. He forgot that he was even human and what humans looked like. Despite this he was happy with his new life and his new family. But that wouldn't be enough for him once he reached a certain age. There would come and day when he would want something more.


	2. Chapter 2

One day on a family hunt as Manny and the others were focusing carefully on the deer grazing. They got into a position to pounce when they heard a loud boom the frightened his prey away.

"What beastly luck." Manny thought.

He had never heard a sound like that, not that he could remember. They went to see where the noise was coming from. It came from a strange machine moving at great speed came by. The four wild cats growled at it and decided to leave well enough alone but Manny was very curious about it.

"What is that thing?" He asked himself.

His family advised against it but he followed the machine while keeping himself hidden in the bushes. What he didn't remember was that the machine was a car. When the car stopped he climbed up a tree and hid. The car door opened and he watched as a gruff looking policeman with an eye patch came out of the car along with two other policemen.

"Alright men go he's around here somewhere." The gruff policeman ordered.

"Emiliano we've been at this case for eight years." His debuty said.

"I don't care, they've hunted illegally and killed three innocent people!" Emiliano said. "There's a man who lives here claiming he's seen a group of men with guns. We're here to question him! Now shut up and do as I say!"

"Geez and I thought bears were mean." Manny thought when he heard Emiliano. "He really needs to chill out."

Emiliano turned his back. Feeling mischievous, Manny grabbed a coconut and threw at the back of his head.

"Who threw that?!" He said turning around with a red face.

Manny laughed quietly to himself.

"Oh so you two like to make a monkey out of your superior do you?!"

"No sir!" His deputy said.

"We didn't do it!" The other policeman said.

"Papa? What's going on out there?"

A little girl about Manny's age stepped out of the car. She had short blue hair and blue eyes, she was wearing a red school dress and holding a book bag. Manny was instantly amazed and entranced by the girl.

"What are you doing?" She said.

"Looking into a crime."

"Do I have to go to that stupid boarding school tomorrow?"

"I know it's not what you want Hija but believe me it's for the best." He chuckled. "Now wait in the car til I get back and don't go anywhere. This jungle is a dangerous place."

"Okay."

She rolled her eyes and went to get back in the car while her father and the other police went to investigate. However Frida didn't want to get back in the car because it was hot in there so she just decided to stay around the area and observe the wildlife. She really didn't want to go to that boring all girls boarding school her parents made her go to. She was very rebellious so they sent her to that school to teach her how to be a proper young lady. The other girls were probably going to make fun of her.

From a distance, Manny watched her every move carefully. He had never seen an animal like her in his life. He wondered what species she was? He wondered if she was male or female? He hoped she was female because she was certainly one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. He watched as she looked around at the trees and the birds then she caught sight of him.

"Who's there?" She asked.

He didn't answer.

"You know I don't like being stalked."

Feeling shy and nervous, he took off running.

"Wait!" Frida cried chasing after him. "Wait a minute! Can you slow down?"

Manny tried to out run her but she kept following him. He climbed up one of the trees as fast as a monkey could. He hoped that she couldn't climb but to his surprise she began climbing up after him but she wasn't as good at climbing as Manny was.

"Hey what are you doing up there?" She asked trying to keep up with him. "Wow, you're really good at this, do you practice this or something?"

He didn't respond, he just kept climbing higher. Suddenly she stepped on a weak branch and it broke causing her to fall. She screamed startling Manny to slipand fall as well but he managed to grab onto another branch and caught Frida by her hand. She dangled while nervously holding on to his arm.

"Don't let go!" She cried helplessly.

But that branch was also weak and it broke sending both of them falling to the ground, hitting their heads. Manny was used to this so all it gave him was a nasty bump. Frida didn't get a bump thanks to Manny shielding her head from the fall but she got knocked out from the shock. He checked for a pulse and for injuries. She was still alive and only had a few scratches. But he was still worried about her so he decided to take her back to where he lived. He carefully slid one arm under her neck to support her head and then slid his other arm under her knees. He lifted her up and carried her back to his tree.

Emiliano had heard Frida scream and immediately went to help her but she wasn't there.

"Find my daughter!" He ordered.

Emiliano and the police searched the jungle but they couldn't find a single trace of her. When Frida woke up she found herself up a tree and Manny who appeared to be communicating with a bird.

"Okay I'm in a tree with a boy who talks to birds." She said. "Well that's a first."

Manny turned at the sound of her voice. He crawled over toward her, grabbed a lock of her hair, and sniffed it.

"Whoa! Whoa! A little space please?" She said pulling her hair away and pushing him back with her foot. Manny grabbed her leg and examined it. He ran his finger up and down her leg carefully then began to look up her dress. "Get off!"

She kicked him away before he could see anything.

"Pervert." She mumbled. "Now stay back like a good wild boy. Stay!"

Manny grabbed her hand and studying her fingers, then he placed his hand against hers. They were exactly alike except hers was lighter than his and softer or so he thought. Around her wrist was a sliver bracelet.

"Uh...this is really weird."

"We...weird?" He said.

"Oh so you can talk? Great do you speak English or Spanish or both?"

He looked at her confused.

"Hmm...maybe I should start small. How old are you?" She asked.

"Fi...Five." He answered.

"Five? No way. You're definitely older than that. What's your name?"

"Ma...Ma...Manny."

"Manny? Well then I'm Frida."

"Fri...Frida?"

"Yes that's my name."

"Pretty...Pretty Frida."

"Oh...Thank you." She blushed. "Can you get me down from here?"

Manny did as she asked and brought her down. He spotted a pink tiger lily like the one his father gave his mother. He picked it and gave it to her.

"Thank you."

He leaned over and puckered his lips. Frida backed away and started to run off.

"Frida! Where are you?!" Her father cried.

"Papa! I'm-"

She saw Manny looking at her sadly and embarrassed. Frida sighed, he might've been strange but he did save her life and he was sweet. She walked back to him and took off her bracelet.

"Here." She said placing it in his hand. "For good luck."

"Frida!" When Manny saw her father coming he ran away and hid.

"Wait!" She called after him.

"Frida there you are!" Emiliano said hugging her, she hugged back. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you all day!"

"Papa I saw a boy! He was very strange and a little off but he saved my life!"

"Now Frida don't make up stories."

"But I didn't make him up! He was real!"

"This is why we're sending you to that boarding school. Come on."

He took her back to his car and they drove back to Miracle City. As they were riding in the car, Frida looked back to see Manny watching her from a tree with the bracelet around his wrist. She smiled.

"Bye." She whispered while waving.

"B...Bye." He whispered back.

Manny didn't realize it yet but he had just come in contact with a young female of his species and as fate would have it he would see her again.


	3. Chapter 3

Manny sat up in his tree admiring the bracelet Frida had given her. He wasn't sure what it was but he would keep it forever. That night he could hardly sleep, questions were swimming in his mind. What were those things? Why did they look like him? And what was it about that one called Frida that made him feel so strange? He had feelings he had never experienced before and it both scared and excited him. Manny didn't know it but Frida also had questions in her mind.

As she lay in the bed of her dorm room she asked a million questions. Who was that boy? What was he doing in the jungle all alone? Was he even real or did she imagine him? They say the jungle can play tricks on people but she hardly believed she could've imagined all that but her father and everyone else she told it to said otherwise. Eventually she grew to accept that what happened was just her mind playing tricks.

The next morning when Manny awoke he went swinging through the trees until he spotted some strange tracks. He dropped down and studied them, they were black, and the smell old and slightly fainted but he could smell burning rubber. Following it he found a familiar looking stuffed toy tiger. He picked it up and smelled it then continued following the tracks til it led him to a tree house. He climbed up the ladder to it to enter a room. It had a book shelf, a table, a few chairs, and a desk photos of wild animals and a pocket knife which he took.

He found a ladder that lead to another room. This one had a bed for two, a mirror on hanging on a hook with a brush hanging on another. Next to the bed was a makeshift cradle that would serve as a bed for a child from birth to age five. Inside of it was a blanket, a rattle, and a storybook. He found a trunk filled with clothes, pictures, and other stuff. He found a wallet with a picture that showed a couple who appeared to be coming home from the hospital, the woman was holding a baby boy and kissing his head while the man standing next to her letting the baby hold his finger in his tiny hand. Manny felt recognition creep into his mind as he looked at the man and woman.

"Ma...Mama...Pa...Papa."

A tear streamed down his face, he clutched the wallet and his toy to him as he struggled not to cry. Sometime later his animal family found him and comforted him.

Seven years later...

Manny was now a handsome twenty year old man and probably one of the most dangerous things in the jungle. If a predator attack him he could kill it instantly same with prey he hunted. If somebody challenged him then they had a death wish but he had a gentle side too. He was kind to most of the animals and considered them his friends and family, he could also be a jokester. He played tricks on his adopted panther father and still wrestled his adopted tiger brother.

However he had developed humanistic traits. He had learned to speak more though it wasn't perfect English it was understandable and he had moved into the tree house he had once lived in with his parents.

One morning while he was napping a monkey stole the bracelet he was wearing and swing away.

"Ugh! Stupid monkeys!" Manny growled as he went after it. He chased the monkey through the trees determined to get back what it stole. The monkey leapt off a tree branch and dropped the bracelet into the river. Manny groaned and dove into the river. As he looked for it he was unaware there was a crocodile heading straight for him. When he caught on he began wrestling the hungry beast.

The crocodile was strong but Manny was a lot stronger. In the end he successfully chased it away and retrieved the bracelet. He was exhausted and ready to finish his nap in the tree when he heard a loud bang in the distance. Curious he followed it, he saw a group of people setting up tents. He wondered what on earth the tents were and why they were using them. He lowered himself behind one to figure out what it was.

"Dad you need to relax." He heard a voice from inside the tent say. Inside was a woman talking on the phone. "I know the jungle is dangerous but I'm twenty years old I'm not a little girl anymore...Dad Mr. Rivera and his men are professional guides I'll be fine...Yes I'll call you every night...I love you too bye."

When he sensed her coming he hid. Walking out of the tent was a beautiful young woman with medium blue hair. It was her, the girl he met seven years ago. She was different looking but he'd know that hair and those blue eyes anywhere. He wondered why she was here.


	4. Chapter 4

Manny hid at the top of a tree and watched Frida with the uttermost fascination. She sure had changed a lot. Her hair was longer, she was taller, more curvy, and had two little round balls on her chest. What were those? And why didn't he or the other men have them? During his examination of the young woman he saw her pull out some type of box which released a flashing light whenever she held it up.

"I hope these pictures develop well." She said.

"Pardon me Miss Suarez." Said a man wearing glasses. "But why the sudden interest in wild life?"

"Well Davi as you know my father's been finding it very hard to convince the government to strengthen their laws on the hunting preserve, they'd be more interested if there were more endangered species. So I'm going to get some pictures, there's bound to be at least one endangered species here."

"Mr. Rivera might know some places."

"Really? Mr. Rivera!" An old man with glasses came to her call. "Do you know if there are any endangered species around here?"

"Probably but I'd avoid them."

"Why is that?"

"You might run into poachers."

"They still haven't caught them yet?"

"They caught them and sentenced them to life and prison but I would've given them the chair."

"Why?"

"They killed my son, daughter in law, and grandson fifteen years ago!"

"Oh my God. Mr. Rivera I'm so sorry I didn't-"

"It's alright Miss...It's...It's in the past. Davi! Toshiro! Billy! (Cactus Kid's real name.) Start looking for food and get the fire ready!"

"Yes sir!" The quarters said.

Frida continued taking photos until her lenses saw a car pulled up. Getting out of it were three men. One of them looked Italian and the other wore glasses and had a mechanical arm. The third who had white hair and rough, muscular skin she recognized as her boyfriend Django. He was fun, sophisticated, and very charismatic but he was a big game hunter which Frida didn't really approve of.

"Django? What are you doing here?" She asked confused.

"You don't look happy to see me."

"It's not that. It's just...Well I took this trip to observe and protect animals not hunt them."

"Don't worry Frida I came here to protect you."

"Well that's very sweet but I don't need protection."

"Your father insisted."

"Dad!" She growled under her breath. "But as long as you're here you might as well join us but who are they?"

"Oh my apologies. This is Sergio and that's Diego, I hired them as guides and trackers."

"Well thank you gentlemen but Mr. Rivera and his men have it handled."

"Still it doesn't hurt to have extra help Miss Suarez." Sergio said.

"Great! So we're good! Um you guys." Django said to the quarters. "Any of you got a cigarette?"

Frida rolled her eyes. The one time she gets a chance to have a little freedom and excitement to herself and her father has to send her overbearing, hunter boyfriend to protect her.

"I'm going to take some pictures." She said walking off.

"Don't go too far Miss Suarez." Toshiro said.

"Hey Toshiro help me with loading this guy's stuff will ya?" Billy asked as he set up Django's stuff. As they worked on it Django who was too wrapped up in polishing his gun, bumped into Billy.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" And he pushed Billy off a cliff into the river.

"Ahhhh!"

"Oh my God!" Frida screamed.

"Billy!" Toshiro gasped.

"Can you swim?!" Davi called.

"No!"

The two quickly jumped in and pulled him out. They got dried off and kept making death glares at Django.

"You guys I am so sorry." Frida said.

"You know you guys should be more careful." Django said.

"Django!" She scolded.

The three men growled at him for saying that.

"Hey."

"Yes Django." Frida said annoyed.

"Why are they looking at me like that?"

"I don't know."

"Well I don't like the way they're looking at me. And they're whispering too. They're probably saying I'm the biggest jerk they've ever seen in their lives. They're probably thinking of something evil to do to me."

"You're probably just imaging it."

"That guy is the biggest jerk I've ever seen in my life." Davi whispered.

"Let's think of something evil to do to him." Billy whispered back.

Meanwhile Manny curiosily snuck into Frida's tent and began looking at her things. First thing he found was a little bag that had some little brown stuff inside. He sniffed it, it smelled good, he licked it. It tasted sweet and he began eating them til they were gone. After that he found a strange bottle with some liquid, he sprayed it and it smelled sweet but tasted terrible. He nearly choked on it. Then he found some strange white elastic piece of clothing that seemed to be made to hold two balls.

"Well I'm going to bed." Frida decided. "Goodnight everyone."

When Manny heard her coming he got out of there and hid. As for her she walked in to find her stuff all over the place.

"What the- ugh! monkeys." She said. "They ate all my churros and spilled my perfume and- wait! How did they get my bra?"

She sighed and began to undress. Manny had a clear view of her, he was very curious about what she looked like without all those clothes on her. But all hope of seeing her like that was lost when she turned out the lights.

"Dang!" He cursed.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Frida woke up to get some fruit for breakfast. She found a mango tree, she climbed up and tried to pick some but it always ended with her sliding down and landing on her butt.

"Great! Okay so this is a minor set back."

Manny noticing the trouble she was having, swung over to the tree unseen, picked the fruit, and carefully dropped some of them down to her.

"Huh? How did these get down here?" She looked up in the direction of where they fell from. Manny hid in the branches to avoid being seen. Frida didn't see him but she had a good feeling that some one was up there so she once again tried to climb up but like before she only ended up sliding back down. After five minutes of trying she gave up and started to gather up the mangoes unaware that hyena was approaching her. The sounds of it's snarls startled her into dropping the fruit and stiffing. She swallowed nervously then turned around to see the hyena staring at her with hungry eyes while licking it's chops and drooling ravenously.

"Okay Frida do not panic, remain clam just remember what that handbook said." She told herself. "Make no sudden movements or noises and slowly walk away."

She started to back away real slow like but then started running. It chased her, in her haste to get away she tripped on a root and fell down. It had her pinned, she couldn't move. Her heart was pounding, her skin lost all color, she was totally petrified. The hyena got into attack position and just when it lunged for her Manny dropped down and pounced on the predator. Frida could only watch as the young man and hyena wrestled each other into the river. When he came out he had a large scratch on his arm and a bloody pocket knife.

"Oh no." Frida said seeing the blood on the knife. "I'm seeing stars."

Her skin turned paler than before and she fainted. Manny put his ear to her chest and listened for a heartbeat, she still had a pulse but she felt cold and clammy. Concerned for her health he slid one of his arms under her neck to support her head and his other under her knees just as he had done years ago and carefully carried her back to the tree house. He laid her in his bed then he went back to get the fruit she had dropped. When he returned he went check on her, the color had started to return to her face and she felt warmer. Thinking she was probably dehydrated he decided to make some juice from the mangoes but found some monkeys trying to steal them.

"Hey!" He began to wrestle the primates for the fruit. Frida woke up to the sound of loud chatter that was being made by both the monkeys and Manny. When he finally chased them off he turned around to see her awake and looking at her confused and somewhat scared.

"I'm in a tree with a man who talks to monkeys." She said. "Well it's official I've lost my mind."

Manny put the fruit down and went over to study her.

"Hold it! Don't come near me. Be a good wild man and leave me alone. Shoo! Shoo! Go away." Like before he sniffed her hair then began sniffing other parts of her body like her arms and legs. "What are you doing? Stop it! Bad! Bad wild man! Alright get off, get off."

Then he caught sight of her breasts and curiously began poking them.

"Get off!" She kicked him and quickly stood up. "Perverted creep! What's going on? Where am I? Who are you? And why are you not wearing a shirt?"

He looked at her confused.

"Oh boy well this is quite the situation I'm in. Attacked by a hyena and then carried off by a shirtless man to...Wherever this is."

"Home."

"Excuse me?"

"This...is...my home."

"Oh thank God! You speak english, I was worried that you were some savage native who spoke a bunch of halabaloo that I wouldn't understand."

"Understand?"

"Yea you know? Understand?"

He looked at her confused again.

"Okay forget that part, I'm guessing you don't normally speak english and that you- ...You're bleeding. Oh my God you're bleeding!"

Manny looked at his arm and now became aware the fact that the scratch he had received was leaking blood.

"Do you have a first aid kit? What I'm saying, of course you don't. You live in a tree and you're only wearing tattered pants. Listen can you take me to the river?"

"Yes."

He did as she asked, at the river she pulled a hanker chief from her pocket and soaked it in the river. She rung it out then carefully began to wipe off the blood and clean the scratch. It stung a little but Manny kept still, as she tended to his wound she noticed the bracelet on his wrist. She unclasped it and looked at it skeptically.

"Where did you get this?" She asked. "Where did you get this? It used to be mine but I lost it when I was a kid or at least that's what I convinced myself had happened to it. Originally I thought I gave it to..."

She finally noticed how familiar the man looked was, how those warm brown eyes reminded her of a pair that belonged to a boy she thought she had imagined.

"Manny?" She guessed. "Manny? Is it you? Do you remember me? I'm Frida."

He gave her a smile, then picked a nearby tiger lily flower and presented it to her.

"Pretty...Pretty Frida."

She smiled back and accepted the flower. He leaned over toward her and puckered his lips in response Frida backed away.

"Yep that's you alright."


	6. Chapter 6

"Frida!" Mr. Rivera called. "Where are you?"

When she didn't return Jorge Rivera, his men, and the others became worried and started searching for her. It wasn't long before they stumbled on to the scene where she was attacked. The scene left behind animal tracks, foot prints, blood stains, the floating dead body of a hyena in the river, fur, and two locks of hair: a brown one and a blue one.

"Davi! You're our best animal investigator and tracker." Jorge said. "What do you make of this?"

Davi began to study the tracks, foot prints, blood stains, the hyena's body and everything else left behind.

"If I'm correct Miss Suarez was attacked by a hyena but another animal killed it and carried the young lady off." Davi said.

"Any idea what kind of animal?" Toshiro asked.

"No. But judging by the injuries it gave the hyena, it was strong definitely had claws, fangs, or something that could cut through skin."

"Do you know if Miss Suarez is still alive?"

"No but I don't think the blood only belongs to hyena."

"You idiots! Where is she?!" Django demanded.

"Calm yourself." Jorge said.

"Don't tell me to calm down! My girlfriend was attacked and carried away but God knows what kind of creature!" Django pulled out a gun.

"Hold it! What's in that?"

"What do you think old man? Bullets!"

"Do you have a permission to shoot bullets here?"

"Of course I do!"

"Good because need I remind you this is a non hunting reserve so we only use tranquilizer darts unless we have permission from the mayor."

"Well I have permission old man now enough squawking! By now Frida is probably being ripped to shreds by some savage beast!"

...

"Try not to move when I'm doing this." Frida said as she tended to Manny's wound like he was a hurt child. "I know it stings but it'll be over quickly."

"You sure?" He whimpered.

"Trust me I've seen my father do this plenty of times." She assured him. Once she cleaned the blood from his arm she binded it with some torn cloth she found. "There we go."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She looked up at the young man giving her a grateful smile. "So you're really real huh? Man people kept telling me I imagined you but I knew! I knew you were real! And wow did you get big. How big are you?"

"Don't know."

"How old are you now?"

"Five."

"All this time has passed and you still think you're five years old. But I guess when you live in the wild and there are no clocks or calenders you don't really have any conception of time. Hey speaking of living in the wild, how on earth did you survive out here?"

"My family took care of me."

"Your family?"

"Let me show you."

She followed him over to a tree. A tiger came down to greet them, terrified Frida clung to Manny.

"Don't worry he won't hurt you." He assured her.

"Won't hurt me? He's a tiger. They kill on sight!"

"Only if they see you as a threat or food. But if they see you as a friend they're very friendly."

When the tiger saw Frida he gave a growl which scared her further but Manny in the language of the wild, told his tiger companion that she meant them no harm and was a friend. In response the tiger went to sniff her then it rubbed against her legs and purred. She paused for a moment feeling nervous but then calmed down and gently stroked the creature. After that Manny introduced her to the rest of his animal family who reacted the same way the tiger did.

"They like you." He told her.

"I can see that." She said as the leopard purred against her.

"You wanna do something fun?"

"Like what?"

"Follow me."

He took her up a high tree where they stood on top of a strong branch. He then grabbed a nearby vine.

"Wait! What are we doing?" She asked him.

"Swinging."

"Swinging?"

"Yeah I do it all the time and it's fun. Give me your hand."

"I... Don't know." She said looking down skeptically. "What if you drop me?"

"I won't, trust me." He offered her his hand, she was little hesitant to go with him at first but his kind eyes and childlike smile convinced her. So she put her hand in his and he pulled her close to his side where he held her. Then he jumped off the branch and the two of them were swinging. Her first response was to close her eyes and cling to him in fear but when she realized that she wasn't falling she opened her eyes and became amazed by the view below.

"You're right this is fun." She agreed. "But whatever you do don't drop me okay?"

"I would never."

They landed nearby a waterfall that connected to the river. It gave him another idea and he took her to the very top of it then jumped off and landed into the river in a big splash.

"Impressive." She said clapping.

"Can you swim?" He called.

"Yes." She called back .

"Then jump in."

"Is it safe?"

"Yep!"

"Alright."

She took off her socks, shoes, and shirt leaving her in just a tank top and skirt then jumped on in to join him.

"That feels nice." She said enjoying the coolness of the water.

The two of them spent the entire afternoon swimming and in the evening Manny started a fire where they sat by it together to dry off. He watched her wring out her wet blue hair and rub her body with a blanket to dry off. He didn't know why but watching her do that caused a strange stirring feeling in his stomach.

"You alright?" She asked him.

"Yes why?"

"Well you keep staring at me. Could you stop it? It's rude."

"Sorry."

He turned his attention back to the fire and focused on that until Frida came to sit next to him.

"Can I ask you something?" She said.

"Yes."

"You said that these animals are your family but what about your parents?"

"My parents?"

"Yes. Where are your parents? Your mother? Your father?"

"They're..." He trailed off as the memories of their deaths replayed in his mind. The three hooded men carrying metal sticks. One of them using their weapon to take the lives of his parents. "They're gone."

"What do you mean gone?"

"They got hit with a metal stick that shot fire and then they wouldn't get up."

"You mean they were killed? By a gun?"

"What's a gun?"

"Well I think it's what you call a metal stick that shoots fire. If someone killed your parents then I can inform my father and have them arrested."

"What's arrested?"

"It's a form of punishment which I'll have my father do if I ever get back home. You know what's really funny about this, I should be scared that no one will ever find me but I'm not."

"Well you're not exactly in danger or distress so I'm not surprised."

"Hmm." She giggled. "Thanks for saving me, I don't think I told you that earlier."

"You're welcome."

"Listen it's getting late and I'm a little tired so do you have somewhere comfortable I can sleep?"

"You can sleep in my bed."

"Are you okay with that?"

"I'll be fine, I sleep on branches all the time."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight."


End file.
